Canada vs. United States (Nations League A) Tuesday, Oct. 15th, 2019 - 7:30pm EST

[Colliedor]

- Would've liked to see Carducci over Leutwiler. I personally think he's better than Crepeau and should be second choice for me.

- Okay, I get the leadership in Henry or whatever, but this should've been given to a player who was under the radar. This is a great chance  to see him in training. Wasted opportunity.

- Nice to see Eustaqiuo, doubt he'll play though.

- James lack of playing time is in question considering he just called up a guy who hasn't played since January..

- No Larin to me pretty much confirms he'll be going with 1 striker and not a shocking formation change like a 442 or 4231.

- I know CPL fans seem to rate Zator, but imo I really don't see the hype and always thought that Zidic was better (does have faults of his own though, like his slowness). So I'm happy he managed to see this (assuming its not cause of club reasons).

[soccer.shocker]

1 hour ago, BrennanFan said:

I wonder if Herdman has settled on starting David and using Cav as the super sub.  In which case, Larin would definitely not play. 

This. Whether the board here agrees or not. 

[BFBF]

4 hours ago, WestHamCanadianinOxford said:

Okay I watch them play semi-regularly, I don't think Hoillett, at this point, provides a consistent goal threat at a level above Davies.

I didn't know Davies played semi-regularly.

[apbsmith]

We attack in a 4-3-3 with wingbacks allowed to make overlapping runs and the DM dropping back to cover when they do... 

The midfield 3 usually are set up in a triangle, so we are pretty nitpicky calling out exact specific formations.

When we defend the shape is almost always a 4-4-2 without possession, it's the easiest defensive formation to transition to and it works. That was pretty evident in the Cuba home game because the attacking mid Osorio would shift to one of the 2 forwards when it shifted to the 442. 

The only times we have not played that way was when we played minnows early in Herdman's tenure, the game vs Mexico and the 2nd half vs Haiti. 

I agree, I don't see us changing or rolling out anything crazy and I also don't see the point in us overly discussing formations....more on the discussion of should David play centrally or out wide are much hotter topics :).

[shorty]

Not sure of the rules for suspensions in CNL:  does Henry need to be called up to serve his one game suspension?  In other words, if he wasn't called for this window, would be then still have to serve his suspension in November?  That would explain being called up for a game he can't play.

[king1010]

14 minutes ago, shorty said:

Not sure of the rules for suspensions in CNL:  does Henry need to be called up to serve his one game suspension?  In other words, if he wasn't called for this window, would be then still have to serve his suspension in November?  That would explain being called up for a game he can't play.

No, he does not need to be called up to serve his suspension. The press release explains why he was called. 

Edited October 1, 2019 by king1010

[CanadaFan123]

59 minutes ago, king1010 said:

No, he does not need to be called up to serve his suspension. The press release explains why he was called. 

Did he need to be called to train with the squad? Otherwise this is embarrassing.

Edgar is down the highway and I’m sure they could fly Henry in to train. 

[dyslexic nam]

I don’t really see it as a big deal.  Only 18 make the game day squad itself so it is just keeping him integrated for all training and team building.  He is clearly part of Herdman’s vision of the team, and unless we have massive youth CB talent coming through the ranks (or Tomori signs up) Henry will anchor our back line for a bunch of years.  Given the limited amount of time our guys get to spend together, I have no issues with henry being there. 

[RS]

31 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

Did he need to be called to train with the squad? Otherwise this is embarrassing.

Of all the things to be embarrassed about in Canadian soccer over the years, I don't even think this makes the top 100.

[CanadaFan123]

Okay, but you’re wrong about 18 players.  

https://ca.soccerway.com/matches/2019/09/11/nc-america/concacaf-nations-league/cuba/canada/3023569/

23 players, or 22 in our case - in our biggest match in years.  It’s just not smart management.  What would prevent them from bringing in Henry to train? 

[CanadaFan123]

Just now, RS said:

Of all the things to be embarrassed about in Canadian soccer over the years, I don't even think this makes the top 100.

That’s a non-exhaustive list, so I’d have to agree.  But embarrassing none the less, this is a massive match and we’re a man short on the bench at home? Bizarre and probably a first even for us. 

[Ansem]

Thinking this

-‐‐----------------------Cavallini
-----Davies‐-----------------------------Hoilett
-----------------------------David

------------------Arfield------------Piette

Adekugbe----------------------------------------Laryea
--------------------Cornelius-----Vitoria

--------------------------------Borjan

[baulderdash77]

I’m a bit surprised at Didic.  To be honest I had Gasparatto and Zator above him in the CanPL.  Maybe Samuel too, because of Samuel’s superior mobility.  

I’m happy that Didic got the call though.  

[RS]

1 minute ago, CanadaFan123 said:

That’s a non-exhaustive list, so I’d have to agree.  But embarrassing none the less, this is a massive match and we’re a man short on the bench at home? Bizarre and probably a first even for us. 

I agree with you that Henry could've simply joined training camp as a non-rostered invitee (same goes for Eustaquio, who I have a hard time seeing getting anything but garbage minutes so soon after returning from a major injury), but given that this is just a one-match window it's not the end of the world IMO.

If Canada was playing two CNL matches in this window it'd be a different case as he'd be taking up a spot from a player who could potentially play important minutes as part of squad rotation.

[Aird25]

21 minutes ago, Ansem said:

Thinking this

-‐‐----------------------Cavallini
-----Davies‐-----------------------------Hoilett
-----------------------------David

------------------Arfield------------Piette

Adekugbe----------------------------------------Laryea
--------------------Cornelius-----Vitoria

--------------------------------Borjan

I think Kaye starts if he’s fit. He’s had a great season

[SthMelbRed]

If they're not called, their clubs don't release them. It's not rocket science.

[Obinna]

46 minutes ago, Ansem said:

Thinking this

-‐‐----------------------Cavallini
-----Davies‐-----------------------------Hoilett
-----------------------------David

------------------Arfield------------Piette

Adekugbe----------------------------------------Laryea
--------------------Cornelius-----Vitoria

--------------------------------Borjan

Kaye hasn't played up to his standard the last few club matches, but he's a starter. We need his ball winning and ability to cover ground.

Cav in the super sub role for Hoilett in this one, pushing David out wide. 

[apbsmith]

1 hour ago, Ansem said:

Thinking this

-‐‐----------------------Cavallini
-----Davies‐-----------------------------Hoilett
-----------------------------David

------------------Arfield------------Piette

Adekugbe----------------------------------------Laryea
--------------------Cornelius-----Vitoria

--------------------------------Borjan

I like this, we have a handful of different options, but it's really only about 2-3 players in my mind that would be different from  ^. Pretty awesome how far we have come in terms of depth for the 3 mids+ 3 fwds. 

Edited October 2, 2019 by apbsmith

[Big_M]

if they play their best offensive players we could be in big trouble at the back..cornelius miller didic..painful to even think about it

[Aird25]

9 hours ago, SpecialK said:

The token CPL pick is just  amateur !!!! 

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen ‘token’ used for a sample size of 1. Brilliant 

[BCM]

6 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

I am curious if he was “dropped” or if he was allowed to stay at the club recognizing that we have a ton of attacking talent. 

That's dropped, mate. Just under a different name.

[Shway]

2 hours ago, Ansem said:

Thinking this

-‐‐----------------------Cavallini
-----Davies‐-----------------------------Hoilett
-----------------------------David

------------------Arfield------------Piette

Adekugbe----------------------------------------Laryea
--------------------Cornelius-----Vitoria

--------------------------------Borjan

This is the exact same lineup I posted, just Kaye in for Piette.

Edited October 2, 2019 by Shway

[Colliedor]

3 minutes ago, Ansem said:

Thinking this

-‐‐----------------------Cavallini
-----Davies‐-----------------------------Hoilett
-----------------------------David

------------------Arfield------------Piette

Adekugbe----------------------------------------Laryea
--------------------Cornelius-----Vitoria

--------------------------------Borjan

For that kind of formation, it really does come down to Kaya, Piette and Eustaqiuo (when healthy) imo. 2 of those 3 players need to start so there can be some balance in the midfield when defending (preferably Kaye and Eustaqiuo, as they carry the ball better than Piette) . Having Arfield there leaves Piette as the only player willing to defend. With a poor backline as it is, we can't leave it anymore exposed than that.

 

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, Big_M said:

if they play their best offensive players we could be in big trouble at the back..cornelius miller didic..painful to even think about it

I'm very curious to know how our fullbacks will fare.

Miller has largely been coming off the bench this season, but he's always looked up to the task this year in MLS. Same with Richie Layrea, although I would argue that while Miller has looked good in his limited time, Richie has looked great at times. 

I am particularly interested to see if Adekugbe can hang. He's been in and out of the program for a few years now. This will be his biggest test, should he play. He's been a starter at a decent side in Norway for a couple of seasons now. Will some of the best wingers in MLS prove to be too much? Arriola, Morris and even Baird are all good players with a lot of pace and power. 

And finally, I hope we get to see Cordova. He is a mainstay now in Chile, but that league is a level slightly lower than MLS, truth be told. Players like Anthony Blondell, Armando Cooper, and Gabriel Torres have had good success there, despite none of them lighting MLS on fire.

[CanadaFan123]

@ObinnaMiller has actually only come off the bench twice and started 13 appearances.  Still, I think he’s a bit too inexperienced to rely on. 

Would have really felt a lot more comfortable with Edgar, James or Straith as added cover.